‘This dress is your sartorial soulmate, Anna,’ Rachel declared. ‘Youhaveto buy it. Give Zahra all your money before someone else can come along and say they want it. Give her all your worldly goods. Give her Will, if she wants him.’
‘All I’ll need today is a deposit, if you decide to go ahead,’ Zahra laughed. ‘In which case, we could also make a couple of appointments for fittings – just so I can adjust the dress and jacket to your measurements exactly. If you like, I can also help you source shoes and accessories to go with them … Maybe even a bridesmaid’s dress?’
‘Yes, yes and yes,’ Anna said, elated. ‘Yes toeverything. Here’s my debit card.’
Half an hour later, on the bus back towards Finsbury Park, Anna rested her head on Rachel’s shoulder. She was quiet but smiling – thoughtful but contented.
‘Thanks for being there for me,’ she said softly. Rachel knew precisely what she meant.
‘Always,’ Rachel replied. ‘Forever. I wouldn’t have missed that fashion show for the world.’
They arrived at the Hope just after five and settled at a table in a sunny spot by the window. Rachel bought a bottle of chilled Provence rosé and poured out two glasses.
‘God, that’s lovely,’ Anna said, taking a sip. ‘Let’s crack into the crisps.’
Rachel tore open the two bags she’d placed on the table – one cheese and onion and one prawn cocktail. Anna made a disgusted face at the pink packet, then dragged the blue one towards her.
They sipped and crunched in silence for a while until Anna turned to Rachel and said, ‘Right. There’s something we need to discuss.’
OhGod, what was this going to be about? Was Anna going to ask her to move out of the flat early? Rachel was barely coping with the idea of leaving as it was.
‘It’s your birthday in two weeks,’ Anna went on. ‘And you haven’t exactly had the easiest year so far. I thought it’d be nice to make a fuss of you – have a proper party.’ She said this in her lightest voice, but Rachel could detect the unease swimming beneath it; misplaced guilt trying to surface.
‘Anna, it’s not your fault Jack turned up at the agency – nor that I got lumbered with him as a work partner. Shit happens.’
‘It does,’ Anna agreed. ‘And … things evolve. Life moves on, in loads of ways. But that isn’t always easy; it takes time to see the good in change sometimes.’
Rachel swallowed. She knew where this was heading, and she didn’t want to go there. Firstly, she didn’t want to make Anna feel bad for getting engaged, and secondly – while marriage might be great for Anna and Will – Rachel really couldn’t see any way in which this was ‘good’ for her.
‘Anna, I’m okay. Really. You don’t need to be worried about me, and youdon’tneed to organise a big birthday bash to cheer me up.’ This second point, at least, she really meant.
‘The thing is,’ Anna mumbled, taking another slurp of wine as if to steel herself for what she had to say next, ‘I’ve already done it.’
‘What?’
‘I’ve already sorted it. The party.’
Rachel tried and failed to prevent a groan from escaping her lips.
‘It’s okay,’ Anna said soothingly. ‘It’s not like I’ve hired a big venue, invited your gran and booked a caterer to make finger sandwiches … It’s just a small gathering of people in a really cool bar. Tom knows the guy who owns it, and he owed him a favour.’
‘Tomknew about this?’ Damn, he was good at keeping things to himself.
Anna was nodding. ‘Yes, he helped me sort it all out. We haven’t told Will, though – he’s terrible at secrets, he’d have spilled it within days.’
‘Hmm,’ Rachel said, arching one auburn eyebrow. ‘I don’t know if that’s entirely fair … He caught you off guard when he proposed.’
‘That’s literally theonlytime he’s managed to hold anything in,’ Anna huffed. ‘And it’s entirely beside the point. Thepointis, you are having a birthday party – and you can’t moan about it now or get edgy about not wanting to be the centre of attention because it’s all arranged. All you have to do is turn up. Youneedthis. It’s for your own good, Rachel.’
Rachel resisted pointing out that ‘it’s for your own good’ was the sort of thing you might say to someone about to undergo a colonoscopy. She leaned back in her chair and let out a long, resigned breath.
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘And … thanks? I think?’
Anna poured more wine into their glasses, grinning with undisguised relief.
‘It’s going to be great,’ she said. ‘It’s at this cool piano bar where you can do karaoke with a live band!’
‘Whoa, okay – that does sound fun,’ Rachel conceded.
